A Reason To Come Back
by Black Knight 03
Summary: Nick as returned to his adoptive parents and now wonders, what's next for him? One-shot Nick-Madison


Disclaimer – Disney owns Power Rangers

A/N – Thanks to lkwreader for the beta.

As the late afternoon sun came streaming in through the windows, Nick Russell laid sprawled out on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

The closer they had ridden to his foster parents, the more nervous he got. He kept wondering how he was going to explain to his adoptive parents, that he had found his real parents. Even better, how do you tell them that your biological parents are powerful mystic warriors, whom you just fought alongside with against an evil being known as the Master.

Luckily, as far as Nick could tell, they had taken it as well as could be. After the initial shock, and a bit of skepticism wore off, they seemed happy for him. They knew how much this meant for him, even if there were parts they would never really understand. 

During dinner, Udonna and Nick had told the Russells about the past year. At first, Mrs. Russell was upset about the danger, but she slowly calmed down and through her tears, was very proud of what her son and his friends had accomplished. Mr. Russell was proud of his son's accomplishments as well, and the man he was starting to become, even though it made him nervous thinking about his boy in harm's way.

After dinner, wanting to lighten the mood, Udonna began to ask Mrs. Russell about Nick's childhood. Mrs. Russell gladly began retelling countless stories about Nick's childhood, and Udonna made sure no detail was lost. With most of the time spent on the more embarrassing moments of his childhood, moments he really didn't want to remember, Nick excused himself and quickly made his way to his old bedroom.

After he flopped onto his bed, he started wondering what he was going to do next. He had accomplished both his short term and long term goals. _Found my real parents and why they left me. Plus, defeated the Master and saved the world. So… what's next? _

His parents would've liked to have seen him go to school, but he wasn't sold on that idea. He had never been that good of a student, as Udonna could attest to. Plus, he wanted to return to Briarwood and Rootcore. His parents would be there, and he had a lot of time to make up for. His friends were there too _Maybe I could go to the Community College like Chip and work part time at the store._

Also, if he was being completely honest with himself, she was there too. Madison had been occupying a lot his thoughts lately. She still had a year left of High School before college, and she was almost as strong of an urge to stick around Briarwood for awhile as his parents were.

Unknowingly, a wide grin emerged on his lips as he remembered what happened before he left. For a brief moment, the shy and awkward Madison had returned and she was cute, trying to find out if he was coming back. After she had finally sputtered out the words, _if he would come back for her_, the more confident girl she had become reemerged. Nick couldn't help but grin at her, but he couldn't find the right words himself. So instead, he had given her his blanket and a promise that he'd be back for this.

Not exactly his smoothest move. But it's funny how when you're not in the situation, you can come up with the best thing to say, but when in the moment, you start grasping at straws.

He still wasn't sure how he felt about her, just that there was something about her, an odd comfortable feeling that he liked.

A soft laugh escaped as he remembered when they had been chased into a cave, and he had had enough and was ready to give up. That was until the usually reserve Madison scolded him. All those times he hadn't given up on them, she wasn't going to let him give up on him.

Someone clearing their throat from the doorway quickly drew his attention. Quickly wiping the smile of his face and jolting up into a sitting position, "Hey, Mom." He wasn't really sure what to call any of them anymore. Should he still call adoptive parents Mom and Dad like he had been for the past nineteen years, or some thing else now that he had found his birth parents. _An argument for a later date._

"You've certainly have had an interesting year," Mrs. Russell said as she walked into the room. Sitting down on a desk chair, she looked at her son with a knowing smile.

"Look," Nick started to say. "I didn't intend for this to happen. It just sorta of did and I could never find the time to properly explain… well, everything."

Mrs. Russell held her hand up to stop him. "I know you well enough to know that you are too stubborn and too loyal to walk away from something like that. You really are a stand up guy." As Mrs. Russell's smile grew, Nick felt more nervous. "And there's something else I know about you."

"What?"

"Tell me about her?" When Nick was about to protest, she simply shook her head no. "If Udonna and her stories weren't enough, that love-struck smile on your face a few minutes ago sealed the deal."

Nick groaned as he ran a hand through his hair. "I… I don't know. We're friends. She's helped me out a lot, just fitting in I guess." _If it wasn't for her, you probably would've taken off that first day._

"She's quiet, maybe a little shy, but I've learned you can't underestimate Madi." When Mrs. Russell practically giggled at the nickname, Nick tried hard to give her an annoyed glare. "It's like she enjoys being behind the camera, but we've gotten her to be in front of it a few times."

"She sounds like a nice girl."

Chuckling self consciously, Nick rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, she is."

"I know you don't want me giving you advice," she said, and then laughed when her son, _he would always be her son_, gave her the typical teenage groan. "But you should tell her how you feel. You try so hard to be the loan wolf. I'm hoping, and I believe this past year as helped you realize it, it's better to be with others than constantly on your own."

"I'll… think about it," he told her as Mrs. Russell stood up before she left.

Swinging his feet over the edge of his bed, he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. Getting up and walking to his closet, he pulled aside the partially opened door and found an old motorcycle helmet on the floor of his closet. Grinning, he knelt down and picked it up.

_My first helmet,_ he thought to himself. _It must've fell from the shelf. I remember when Dad gave me this._ Nick started laughing to himself as he remember the day when his mom had gone ballistic on both of them when he had first gotten his bike a few months after his sixteenth birthday.

When he had been preparing to leave, he had bought a brand new helmet and left this one in his closet. Slowly turning the helmet, he inspected all the scratches and dings. _Tell her how you feel._

Holding the helmet, an embarrassed half grin started to form on his face as he thought of a way to tell Madison how he felt. Reaching into his back pocket for his morpher, he withdrew it and took a deep breath. _Swallow your pride and do it._

A few days later, Vida carried a large shipping box up the stairs of the Rocca home. Walking along the second floor hallway, she passed her own room, and stopped at the second door. Kicking the door open, she called "Madison!"

Seconds later, the door opened to reveal Vida's twin sister. "What's with the box?"

Adjusting her grip on it, "It's yours." As Madison gave her a questioning look, she barraged her way into the room and dumped the box onto the bed. Glancing around for a moment, she noticed the familiar red blanket lying on the bed. Scooping it up, Vida turned to her sister, "You've got to stop pinning. He's going to come back."

Snatching the blanket out of her hands, she tenderly held it for a moment before putting it back on her bed. "I'm not pinning," she said defiantly. "I just… miss him."

Vida snorted at the understatement, and gave a half apologetic grin and shrug to Madison when she glared at her. "So what's in the box?"

Shrugging, Madison grabbed a pair of scissors and cut through the tape. Opening the lids, she found a box full of packing peanuts. "Did I order something?"

"I can barely keep track of me, sis." Vida then noticed an envelope attached to one of the lids. Grabbing it off, she opened the envelope and pulled out a letter. Quickly reading it over, she started grinning. With Madison giving her a confused, are you insane, look, she handed the letter to her.

_Madi,_

_We should be back sometime next weekend, and I figure you're going to need this when I get back._

_Nick._

Looking up at her sister with a small grin. "I wonder what he sent."

"Dig it out," Vida said impatiently, barely resisting the urge to tear into it herself.

Like a little child opening a present at Christmas, Madison dug through the peanuts. When her hand grazed something solid after a few seconds, she felt around for the edge of whatever it was.

Finding it, and gripping it, she gently pulled it up. Vida snickered as she saw what it was, while Madison couldn't help but smile as she held the motorcycle helmet in her hands.

"Told you," Vida told her, and then grabbed the helmet. "As he ever let anyone else even sit on his precious baby?" She then turned the helmet so the back of it was facing Madison. "I got admit, I do like the paint job," she teased. The helmet was a full face style, colored in all black, except for a thick blue line that was outlined by a thin white line. The line went from the middle of the front, over the top, and then as it reached the back, fanned out into the shape of a mermaid tale.

Taking the helmet back, Madison blushed a little. Turning towards a mirror over her dresser, she tired the helmet on. "So… how does I look?"

Unable to resist teasing her sister, Vida slowly grinned. "Like a love sick puppy." Walking over to her sister in front of the mirror, she draped an arm over her shoulders and looked at their reflection. "But on you,… it doesn't look too bad."

"Thanks," Madison said sarcastically. "I guess."

"Don't mention it." As both girls dissolved into a fit full of giggles, Madison smiled at her reflection.

There had been something about Nick since the first time she met him, and it was beyond his rebel appearance. She just wished she could figure out what it was about him. _Well,... the bike didn't hurt._

Removing the helmet, she held it in one hand and gently traced her fingertips over the blue stripe. She knew she was smiling like an idiot, and she didn't really care. The only thing she really cared about now was that next weekend couldn't come fast enough.


End file.
